George Henry Walton (June 3, 1867 Glasgow - December 10, 1933 London), is a famous Scottish architect and designer of extraordinary diversity.
Video George Henry Walton
Biography
George Walton was born in Glasgow in 1862. He is the youngest of twelve gifted children of Jackson Walton, a commission agent for Manchester and himself a painter and accomplished photographer, by his second wife, Quaker Eliza Ann Nicholson, born in Aberdeen. George is the brother of the painter Edward Arthur Walton of Glasgow School.
Maps George Henry Walton
Working in Glasgow and Scarborough
His father's death in 1873 left the family in difficult circumstances, and at the age of thirteen George began working as an employee at the British Linen Bank. With views for different careers, he attended art class at night at the Glasgow School of Art and with Peter McGregor Wilson (1856-1928) at the short-lived Glasgow Atelier of Fine Arts. When he was assigned to redesign one of Miss Cranston's tea rooms at 114 Argyle Street in Glasgow, Walton started his own decorating company, George Walton & amp; Co, Ecclesiastical and House Decorators, in 1888 at 152 Wellington Street. The peacock became the company's symbol. His artistic and craft styles, including the production of his woodblock wallpaper, were influenced by William Morris and include stencilling, a common technique in Scotland at the moment, and the highly decorated surface of the wall with flower patterns, in line with the prevailing modes and also influenced by the books Japanese patterns that reflect the then active trade of Glasgow with Japan. He is also strongly influenced by James Whistler
His work ventures into almost every street of decorative arts, helping pioneer the distinctive Glasgow Style. In 1890 he hired Robert Graham, the future manager of the company in 1903-05, and met Quaker Fred Rowntree (1860-1927) architect at a dramatic amateur show. On June 3, 1891, Walton married Kate Gall, a London girl from a prosperous family, and moved to Charing Cross Mansions. Their daughter was born in 1892.
In the 1890s he was responsible for decorating St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Braid Street, Glasgow. The company became famous for its stained glass, exhibiting at the Glasgow Institute in 1889. He was one of the pioneers in the use of domestic stained glass in Glasgow. In 1892 he worked at the home of the king of the ship William Burrell and in 1893 he decorated the 'Drumalis' of Hugh Houston Smiley's large house, 1st Baronet located in Larne, Northern Ireland and this remains his company's most complete work.
The Walton Company rapidly diversified, winning commissions in wood making, furniture making, and stained glass. From 1896 Walton partnered with Fred Rowntree, in the Rowntree family project in their home town of Scarborough. In 1896, this caused his first commission in England for John Rowntree, who owned a café in town. The project sees Walton's first significant robbery into furniture design, including a typical 'Abingwood' seat. Walton's style at this stage is to develop controlled ornaments attached to the plain surface.
That same year she decorated and furnished Miss Cranston's tea room at Buchanan Street, originally designed by George Washington Browne where Walton continued to develop his stencilling technique after leaving the wallpaper for a more flexible technique. A review by Joseph Gleeson White commented on the elegant simplicity of Walton's design despite the involvement of Washington Brown, whose work was considered heavy.. Walton also designed furniture that is famous for its 'twisting verticality' and in keeping with Glasgow Style aesthetics.
Working in London and with photographer
In 1896, Walton transformed his company into a limited joint-stock company with a majority of the shares held by Walton and most of the remaining shares held by Rowntree and in 1897 Walton joined his brother Edward in London and set up a home in 16 Westbourne Park Grove, Bayswater where he has a studio in the garden. He now organizes himself as an artist in the Post Office Directory, rather than painters and decorators.
In London, his work comes from personal relationships with photographers. Through his friendship with Glasgow photographer James Craig Annan, he designed a salon at Dudley Gallery, Piccadilly, London. The Commission involves placing images in groups and subgroups in irregular patterns with various frames and rejecting the traditional practice of 'skying and diving' (which includes every available wall space). The Photography Annual declares this to be 'the first time the traditional way of geometric, symmetrical, has been completely abandoned'. In this exhibition he only displays high quality images on a burnt sienna canvas.
In London he met George Davison (1854-1930) employed by Eastman Kodak. Through him Walton designed two rooms at Eastman Exhibition that were critically acclaimed as 'the greatest and best thing ever done' in the UK through photography exhibitions. This led to a commission for designing headquarters and a new showroom for Eastman operations in Europe. Clerkenwell Road and then their new showroom at 171-3 Regent Street Walton went on to design up to three showroom designs for companies across Europe each year and each has a distinct and new Glasgow Walton flavor. His commission to design Kodak showrooms in England and Europe (London, Glasgow, Brussels, Milan, Vienna, and Moscow) made him famous internationally. He also designed the packaging of the company's products.
More work in Glasgow and Yorkshire
Walton worked at Ledcameroch, Bearsden near Glasgow for J B Gow, in 1897 where there was a touch of light that reflected his experience in exhibition design. In 1898 he worked in William Seaton's tea room network in Glasgow and in Yorkshire. A large commission of 1898 was redecorating and awarding Elm Bank, York, to Sidney Leetham which included elements of Japan. Elm Bank is now a hotel and his work here reflects a new guarantee in his approach.
His company opened a showroom at York's Stonegate in 1898 and set up a four-storey workshop building at 35-7 Buccleuch Street, in Glasgow in 1899 and 1900. From 1901 Walton undertook the construction of a complete building, making use of the experience of his association with Fred Rowntree. In 1901 Walton made an unusual move to become an architect, while many architects crossed into some interior designs moving in the other direction. His first commission was 'The Leys' for James Brooker Blakemoor Wellington (1858-1939) from Wellington & amp; Ward Ltd , photography material manufacturer and formerly from Eastman company. The house is art and craft in style, large and earthy using vernacular material and detailing with a three-story hall containing one of the best fireplace designs. The building has a simple interior and design simplicity that reflects the sleeker and more sophisticated Walton. His growing reputation among photographers also led to more commissions for the exhibition.
Increase prosperity and focus on jobs in the UK
When Walton increased his activity and prosperity in 1901 he moved to a more fashionable address at 44 Holland Park Road in Holland Park. He resigned from George Walton & amp; Co on January 17, 1903 and the York branch closed shortly thereafter and on 30 June 1905 the remaining partners shut down the company, which is mainly based in Glasgow. Since then, Walton has only practiced as an architect and designer. He continues to work on interiors, such as Alma House, Cheltenham and Finnart House, Weybridge, developing a more classic style.
Working at Harlech
In 1906 George Davison decided to build a house in Harlech where his schoolmate Harry More, the Crowning Agent for the Forestry Commission in Wales, lived. Harlech currently has several British families whose social life revolves around Lord Winchelsea, whose brother founded St David's golf course in 1894. While developing the idea for a home, he also proposed a hotel for golfers using a new golf course, based on the recommendation of his English acquaintance at Harlech. In 1907, Walton completed his first design for the hotel and 'Harlech Hotel and Land Development Syndicate Ltd' was founded. This hotel is known as St David's Hotel.
Davison has expressed a desire for his own castle at Harlech and this is defined briefly for his home design, later to be known as Wern Fawr (now part of Coleg Harlech), a solid and heavy building built in Georgian style, made of stone blocks and situated on the edge cliffs, reflecting Harlech Castle itself. Wern Fawr, built in 1907-1908, reflects current fashion developments for English Classicism..
Registration as architects and next life
Walton was recognized as a licensee of the Royal Institute of British Architects on July 20, 1911, the proposer being his old friend Charles Edward Mallows. From 1905 he had worked from a magnificent house at 26 Emperor's Gate in Kensington, but after the outbreak of World War I, the commission became scarce. His wife Kate died and generous financial support from the Gall family stopped. In 1916, Walton moved to Carlisle and between 1916 and 1921, working under Harry Redfern, he produced designs for pubs and canteens for the Central Control Board, which was established to manage the beverage trade and public houses in lots of ammunition production. area.
Walton married a colleague Dorothy (Daphne) Jeram, daughter of a Hampshire doctor on November 20, 1918, and a son born in 1920. In 1919, Walton sought to revive his private practice, with the support of Scottish friends and portraits-painter William Oliphant Hutchison (1889-1970), who married his niece, and paints a glaring portrait of Walton 10 years before his death. He now works primarily as a textile designer for Morton Sundour Fabrics of Carlisle, but this work also stops because of the recession and falling demand for Art Nouveau designs. In March 1931, Waltons moved to 70 Seabrook Road in Hythe to reduce the cost of living.
The despairing Walton died on December 10, 1933. John Betjeman obtained a civil list pension for his widow. The pictures of Walton and the photographs related to his practice will be in the Library of British Architecture Collection .
Bibliography
- George Walton: Designer and Architect - Karen Moon (White Cockade Publishing, 2001) ISBNÃ, 1-873487-01-0
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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